This invention relates generally to prefabricated fireplaces, and more particularly to a prefabricated fireplace assembly that is peripherally framed with standard building materials for direct installation into a rough opening in a building.
Whether for providing heat, for purely decorative purposes, or for value enhancement, fireplace assemblies have become commonplace in today""s building trades for both residential and commercial applications. Most new home construction designs include at least one, and often several fireplaces. Further, a significant number of remodeling projects are focused about fireplace assemblies.
Such popularity is in great measure due to the development of direct vented fireplace assemblies, of the type generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,322. By eliminating the need for a conventional chimney, the direct vented fireplace assembly not only drastically reduces the cost of installing a fireplace, but also significantly increases the architectural design flexibility for such units, since the fireplace assemblies can now be designed in numerous configurations and can be readily positioned virtually anywhere in a room or building. More recent use of light weight reinforced ceramic fiber materials and binders has enabled fireplace fireboxes and combustion chambers to be constructed with the appearance of traditional masonry fireplaces, while exhibiting superior insulating properties that enables such assemblies to be installed with minimal separation spacing from surrounding building materials. The cross-referenced U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,996,575 and 5,941,237 describe such fireplace construction techniques and are herein incorporated by reference to the extent that their disclosures are useful or necessary for understanding and/or supporting this invention.
Heretofore, fireplace assemblies of the type that are inserted into a wall have generally required the contractor to not only frame in an enclosure for receiving the assembly, but to also prefinish that enclosure with sheetrock or other appropriate fire-grade material, prior to installation of the fireplace assembly. Further, the fireplace assemblies inserted into such enclosures typically include a metal protective outer shroud material. Such construction processes and fireplace construction both increase the overall cost of the project.
The present invention addresses the above short comings of prior fireplace assemblies and installation requirements. The present invention provides a novel fireplace assembly construction that eliminates the need for contractor construction of prefinished receptor enclosures, as well as the need for costly outer sheet metal fireplace assembly shrouds and provides other benefits to the installing contractor.
The present invention incorporated the most desirable features and advantages of prior fireplace assembly designs, while reducing the costs of both the fireplace assembly and its preinstallation construction labor and materials. The present invention provides a fireplace assembly that requires only a rough opening in the wall in which the fireplace will be mounted, similar to that for a window or similar fenestration, for mounting the assembly. No labor intensive enclosure construction or prefinishing is required to contain the fireplace assembly. The assembly can simply be inserted into the presized rough opening and affixed thereto by brackets extending from the assembly, all during the framing phase of a building project.
The factory produced fireplace assembly is delivered to the jobsite with a preassembled external framework of building materials. The framework also serves as the shipping carton for the assembly. Once the contractor hangs the assembled unit in the rough opening, he can directly apply sheetrock or other interior wall materials up to the assembly at the same time that the interior walls of the building are being finished, and can directly apply external siding or other wall and/or roof canopy materials to or against the factory provided framework of the fireplace assembly. Contractor installation error is virtually eliminated, since proper safety and reliability concerns are addressed at the factory, not at the jobsite, by the preinstallation of surrounding framing members of known strengths and clearance tolerances to satisfy all structural, governmental and safety requirements for the fireplace assembly.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a prefabricated fireplace assembly, comprising: (a) a fireplace box defining a combustion chamber; and (b) a framework of building materials connected to operatively support the fireplace box, wherein the framework forms an integral part of the fireplace assembly that remains connected to the fireplace assembly when it is installed within the building structure. The framework assembly is of a configuration that can be directly mounted within a rough opening of a wall in a building structure by mounting flanges. According to a further aspect of the invention, the fireplace box preferably comprises a ceramic combustion chamber of molded construction and having a support flange integrally embedded within the ceramic for securing the fireplace box to the framework. According to yet a further aspect of the invention, the framework is configured to become a part of an external wall of the building structure in which the fireplace assembly is to be installed.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention there is provided a prefabricated fireplace assembly module of a type suitable for zero tolerance installation within a rough opening of a building framework, wherein heat generated by use of the fireplace assembly will not reach predetermined unsafe levels for the building framework, comprising: (a) an external framework of building materials of a type directly compatible and configured for mounting to the rough opening building framework; and (b) an open fireplace box fixedly mounted to and carried by said external framework and bordered by said external framework on at least three sides of said fireplace box.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a prefabricated fireplace assembly comprising the steps of: (a) forming a fireplace box having a combustion chamber; (b) forming a framework of building materials about said fireplace box; and (c) mounting the fireplace box to the framework, wherein the fireplace box and framework collectively form a prefabricated fireplace assembly module.
While specific venting configurations will be illustrated in describing preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not to be limited to any particular vent configuration. As a matter of fact, the principles of the invention could apply equally well to a totally ventless firebox construction. Further, while the present invention will be illustrated with reference to several specific examples of framing configurations applied to the fireplace assembly, the particular framing configuration or shapes illustrated in the preferred embodiment is not intended to be limiting to the invention. Also, framing materials need not be applied to all sides of the fireplace, but need only apply to those sides of the fireplace that would be covered by finishing materials. For example a comer or three-sided fireplace unit would require less framing materials. It will also be appreciated that while the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described with respect to wooden framing building materials, the invention is not limited to the use of any particular type of building materials. For example, the wooden framing materials could be replaced by plastic or metal or other suitable building materials.
It will also be understood that while a gas energized assembly will be described with respect to the preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to gas-fired units, but could equally apply to wood burning structures. Further, while the present invention will be described with respect to its use with a universal firebox of molded RFC material, the invention is not to be limited to any particular firebox material, but could be used with other known firebox construction such as those of sheet metal and other known materials. These and other modifications of the invention will be understood by those skilled in the art in view of the following description of the invention, with reference to specific preferred embodiments thereof.